Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience

Unsurprisingly, dining at Faulty Towers is a tense experience. From the moment we arrive at B’est restaurant, Basil, Sybil and Manuel (but alas no Polly) are on hand to ensure that our meal is anything but straightforward, and by the time we reach the third course we’ve been exposed to all the rats, Germans and betting-slips that any die-hard fan could ask for.

But a guest at Faulty Towers the Dining Experience is a very different creature to a guest at Fawlty Towers the Torquay hotel. Where John Cleese’s on-screen Basil induces shock and outrage in his clientele, this one serves up chicken and mushrooms (‘are you enjoying your breast, madam?’) to a baying audience all too ready with quips, boos, and moans of pity for the put-upon Manuel. It truly is Fawlty Towers: the Panto – there’s no way an endeavour like this could be anything but – and if you’re considering a sedate lunch-date you’d do well to bear that in mind.

For what they are, the impersonations are excellent. Basil and Manuel in particular don’t hit a false note. The food, however, is truly abysmal.